Emirates

We have flown with Emirates more than 20 times. In the last 4 months we flew Business Class 8 times and First Class once. We have experienced 2 great flights with them but 6 awful flights. Emirates call centre were disorganised and provided conflicting information when we called to try to make changes. The crew in general are by far the worst we have experienced on any airline (including budget airlines). On 4 of the recent flights my wife was pregnant. Emirates made very little attempt to make the flight any better for her. We have flown with Emirates various times over the last 7 years and have found the experience increasingly worse. The food in Business Class has been paired back so much that it is almost inedible. They have chosen to use extremely cheap bread and pastry products as filler. The food at Singapore Business Lounge was inedible I say this as a statement of fact not a complaint. I returned to the main terminal and purchased food and drink from there and brought it back into the lounge. The chauffeur service is also highly variable. At Singapore we were collected by an 8 year old souped up mini van (replete with flashing lights inside and worn out interior) instead of the limousine they promise. We fly a combination of Business and First Class when we use Emirates our reason for this is to try to avoid undue stress when travelling to or from a holiday destination. Unfortunately we have found that for 75% of the time we come home feeling frustrated. We are going to try BA and Virgin for our future trips - I would highly recommend avoiding ever using Emirates airlines.

I flew Emirates from Vienna to Harare in March. The difference in quality of aircraft from VIE-DXB to DXB-HRE was staggering. The Africa-bound plane was old the seats were narrow and uncomfortable (comparatively) the in- flight entertainment system was archaic (without even the detailed route tracker that is the standard of other Emirates planes). Before opting for the Business class flight I had flown Emirates coach a number of times and on the newer planes it is far superior to business on the Harare route if value for money is something you care about. Incredibly disappointed. The massive gulf in quality between the Europe-originating route and the Africa-bound one was massive. Unforgivably so given the fact that we were still expected to pay a premium. Poor showing Emirates.

My wife and I flew return business class from Toronto to Bangkok via Dubai. The Toronto to Dubai leg on a newer A380 provided excellent cabin service and food with the exception of the hot breakfast which was well below par. Upon arrival in Dubai we found The business class lounges to be very comfortable providing a good selection of food beverages and reading materials. The Dubai A380 leg went smoothly except for that hot breakfast again which once again proved inedible. The return flight A380 from Bangkok to Dubai was on an older series A380 and was a lot less comfortable due to a built in footrest which prevented me from stretching out my legs. I found this to be very debilitating as I have a bad knee and I was very uncomfortable unless I put the seat into the flat bed position. The Dubai - Toronto return leg was once again on a newer A380 and provided more comfort than the older A380. I still had not learned from my earlier hot breakfast experiences and fell for it a third time. This was by far the worst of all the three breakfasts and I took it upon myself to complain about the poached eggs that had the consistency of hockey pucks. The cabin crew were very apologetic and acknowledged that it was an ongoing issue. Overall the Emirates business class experience was expensive mainly pleasant but could be significantly improved. The chauffeur service was excellent however everything else isn't where it needs to be yet in order for me to stop shopping around for alternatives. My comments and suggestions are listed below. Business class seats are narrow and uncomfortable especially seats F & G which are only separated by an armrest. I was travelling with my wife so we didn't need to use the privacy screen which rises vertically from the armrest. Unfortunately even when it is not in use it still protrudes vertically from the armrest by approximately 9" preventing use of the armrest for it's intended purpose or even holding hands with your significant other if so inclined. In business class the lounge 4 washrooms galley and stairs to the lower level are all at the rear of the aircraft. This can make for a very busy area particularly with cabin crews comings and goings. It also makes for a very long walk to the washroom if you are seated near the front of the business class section. Kudos to the cabin crew as they delivered all food on trays without resorting to the use of trolleys which would obviously restrict passenger movement and clog up the aisles. Having said that requests for individual items can be met by comments such as "I'll be back in a minute". When I mentioned to a member of the flight crew that the flight tracker program wasn't working during the Toronto return leg it was just met by a shrug of shoulders and no explanation? My biggest beef regarding my first Emirates experience is that we never once saw the plane's purser (cabin manager) on any flight as they never appeared from behind the curtain that separates first and business classes.

I am a frequent traveler with Emirates and am sad to say it is all going downhill. MNL-DBX-AMM and CAI-DBX-MNL on the way back. The B777-300 ER is a nice plane with departure at 12.20 am. With all the time spent in the airport and the lousy lounges at Manila airport (not airline's fault) one gets to the flight starving. Just to find out they have "Light Bites Service". All options below business class standards. Tiny portion leaves you starving for the rest of the flight until breakfast comes. No service in between. This service takes more than two hours to be completed when people want to go to sleep as soon as possible. Then the connection to Amman was far worse. A330 plane is really bad when the passenger in front of you fully reclines you end up with his head on your lap. When things couldn't get worse they did on the way back. Ground staff at Cairo are as bad as the airport itself. No priority boarding long faces a true mess. Fortunately I was served dinner as it was dinner time. B777-200 also a very bad aircraft. My ICE screen got stuck when the guy in front of me reclined fully. Crew did nothing. Then another red-eye to Manila more "Light Bites" service crew took three hours in offering the duvet for the hard seats (by then they already woke me up). These flights require super-fast bed service not three hours after. An really can't you afford a true meal? Really disappointed.

Emirates A380 is the only way to fly long distance today. We flew from Spain to Dubai and back on it and once you experience the bar at the back and being able to move around drink chat and socialize you will not want to fly any other way than the A380 Emirates Business Class. It sets a standard of luxury that no other aircraft or airline can compete with. They know the meaning of going that extra mile and the A380 is it!

DUB-DBX-PEK and return. Four Emirates Flights in the last 6 days. First sector from Dublin to Dubai was astonishingly poor for an airline as reputable as Emirates. Chaotic boarding late departure - 1hr 10 minute delay. Staff onboard were generally surly abrupt extremely rude and unhelpful. One particular stewardess on this flight demonstrably lacked the people and interpersonal skills required to carry out her responsibilities. The aircraft's ICE system was particularly ineffective and difficult to navigate. However the further three flights resonated as if it were a completely different airline. Staff were utterly professional courteous caring and engaging throughout. The PEK-DBX flight epitomised the standard for exemplary customer service in every way albeit helped by the fantastic A380-800 aircraft used on this sector. Despite the first let-down Emirates will be my airline of choice for any future longhaul international travel.

SYD-CDG-LHR-SYD. With stops either way in Dubai. Hadn't flown Emirates since 2005 and very mixed reviews but I had to book a trip due to a family illness in England literally booked 4 days before flying and Emirates gave me a very good price. On all 4 sectors I flew A380s couldn't fault them the planes were clean staff were courteous ICE was excellent and meals not too bad and above all the toilets were kept very clean flew in the forward economy section on 3 sectors and it felt very cosy. Keep it up Emirates will certainly fly you back to Italy next year with my wife.

DUB-DXB-PEK and return. First time to fly Emirates. Three flights on the Boeing 777-300 one on the Airbus A380-800. 3/4 sectors typified the renowned Emirates service but DUB-DXB left a lot to be desired with surly uninterested and even some ignorant cabin crew. Some even refused to bring water to passengers. Disgraceful conduct. The IFE system was also difficult to navigate on this sector leading to a less than satisfactory flight. However all other sectors were extremely good particularly service aboard the A380 from PEK-DXB. Staff were exemplary chatty smiling engaging and above all courteous. Our group received complimentary champagne on two occasions during the flight. They went out of their way to make us feel at home. Space was very good the IFE fantastic and food was excellent. All in all a wonderful experience and definitely my airline of choice for future International travel.

A colleague and I travelled Business Class to Singapore (via Dubai) from Heathrow on our way to Australia and New Zealand end January 2015. Our flight on Emirates proved to be a highlight of the holiday. The crew the food the ambience the comfort was all absolutely fantastic. We travelled other airlines on our tour but none came anywhere near the standards set by Emirates.

We flew from Birmingham to Melbourne with stops in Dubai and KL - very satisfactory. Excellent lounges and good departure times so the trip was as painless as possible. Service varied from ok to excellent. Seat 9A and 9B were well positioned comfortable and with good appointments and spaces for storage. Emirates is clearly a top class airline with all the trimmings that a long time traveller expects (for the $$$!). Their entertainment system is a bit hard to navigate. Program selection fantastic.